High lift pallet truck

High lift pallet truck equipment has definitely helped to streamline operations, especially in a warehouse setting, but only when they are used intelligently, safely, and for their intended purpose.

From time to time, even after High lift pallet truck safety meetings have been held, operators can get a little bit “loosey-goosey” with this kind of equipment – and that’s when problems and accidents can begin to occur.

It’s of the utmost importance that you do everything you can to keep your employees safe by encouraging them to operate High lift pallet truck equipment as safely as possible, and hopefully these tips and tricks below will give you the ability to do exactly that!

Remind operators that their safety is their responsibility when operating a high lift pallet truck

While the overwhelming majority of pieces of high lift pallet truck equipment are engineered with safety features in mind, many of them including advanced technology to protect operators as much as possible in as many circumstances as one can imagine, the truth of the matter is that operators are always responsible for their safety when using heavy equipment – and it’s important that operators remember this fact.

When operators begin to lean heavily on the safety features of the equipment they are operating to keep them safe they tend to get a little bit sloppy, a little bit complacent, and a little bit reckless.

When they instead understand and really embrace the fact that they are in control and they are responsible for their safety while operating a high lift pallet truck, they begin to take more ownership over their safety and use the equipment accordingly.

Even if you have dedicated staff that works to maintain all of the equipment you have in your warehouse, it’s important that operators understand how to perform regular and daily maintenance of High lift pallet truck equipment and that they move through these maintenance processes intelligently.

Routine maintenance keeps your equipment up and running (improving efficiency and profitability), but it also boosts morale as well. Operators feel more confident and comfortable with regularly maintained equipment, as they know it is going to be able to help them do their job better while protecting them as well.

When in doubt, contact a safety manager before proceeding

There may be plenty of circumstances that operators find themselves in that may push the boundaries of the operational capacity of High lift pallet truck equipment, and before moving forward with those circumstances operators should be encouraged to reach out to safety managers to make sure that everything is good to go.

You want to encourage your operators to reach out for a second opinion or more experienced help rather than try to force issues that they may not be completely comfortable with, especially if they are concerned with the overall capabilities of the equipment they are using during these circumstances.

It’s much better to have a slight delay or slowdown in productivity to make sure everything is safe then deal with the fallout from dangerous accidents or situations that could have otherwise been avoided.